More Wine
by Jetstream Girge
Summary: A winning entry for the prompt contest on the official forums. Prompt: Comedy involving Rena, another member of the El Search Party and Chloe in a bar. Summary: Rena takes Ara out for a night on the town for an evening of gossip and drinks. What she gets is... Rated T for blatant alcohol reference.


**Hey folks! There was a contest on the phorums for a short comedy piece involving Rena, Ara and Chloe, and this is what I entered with. And I won! I hope you all enjoy it as much as the judge apparently did!**

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"Um… Miss Rena?" The elf in question turned her head to her companion at this nervous question.

"Yes, Ara-ssi?" she answered. The young Sakra Devanam at her side shuffled on her feet uncomfortably.

"I-Is this really okay? I am not quite old enough, yet."

"It's fine, it's fine! You are only weeks away from coming of age. The barkeep won't have too much of a problem with it."

"Still…" Ara's eyes swept over the door of the establishment, a bar in the middle of Sander no less, before looking to the Wind Sneaker with pleading eyes. "W-Wouldn't Raven or Eve be better people to ask to a bar?"

Rena smiled widely. "Last time I took Eve out on the town, she refused to drink anything, saying that she deserved only the finest royal liquor if she partook in any drinking activities. We got thrown out after she insulted the barkeep and the manager for serving such worthless swill." She made sure to do her best Eve impression as she relived that night, drawing a small giggle from the young girl.

"I can see that, I suppose. But what about Sir Raven? You and he have gone out drinking several times before, right?" Her questioning eyes met Rena's.

"Yeah, we have…" Rena smiled again, but it was different from the one she had on when talking about Eve. "Those were fun nights. We shared a lot of stories of the things we had seen. For a human, he has seen so much in the short time before we met. It was…"

Realizing she was rambling, Rena quickly cleared her throat. "Sorry, wandered off a bit there. Anyways, I would like to invite Raven, but Elesis and Elsword decided to hold a two on one sparring match with him. They're probably still going at it, so he can't come with me, which makes you the top contender for tonight! Now come on, let's go in!" Without even waiting for the spearwoman's rebuttal, she pushed the girl through the doors.

The sound of small conversations and the clinking of glasses permeated the air, with occasional roars of laughter breaking the monotony. Ara had never been in one of these places before, but had heard stories of rough men hunched over the counter, shooting dangerous looks at any new patrons. But this, this seemed nice.

By the time she finished her thought Rena had already dragged her to the counter and waved down the bartender.

"Good evening, can I get the usual?" The Wind Sneaker asked, and the burly man behind the counter nodded wordlessly and pulled out wine glass before pouring a hefty amount of red wine into it.

"Starting a tab?" he inquired, to which the elf nodded.

"Mhm."

"Alright." Now looking at Ara, the young girl felt her spine straighten. "And you?"

"Uh… Um…" Her mouth was only capable of uttering incomprehensible sounds as she stood like a deer in headlights. But it was Rena to the rescue.

"Just give her a light mixed drink. It's her first time out. On my tab." Rena winked at the man, who let a small smile break out on his face as he reached under the counter and pulled out a tall glass. After a minute or two of him shaking up some clear liquid, mashing up some El Tree fruit and mixing, he poured it into the glass and slid it to the Sakra Devanam.

"This is all she gets, alright Rena?" He muttered to the Wind Sneaker as Ara took the drink in her hands like it was delicate child.

"Oh, you could tell?" the elf giggled.

"If I couldn't tell, I wouldn't still be working here. This is just a favor for you dealing with Behemoth." The barkeep nodded once more to the pair before sliding over to his next customer.

"Well, let's take a seat then, Ara-ssi," Rena cooed. Before long, the two women found a small table in a corner of the saloon, but just as Ara placed her lips on her straw, Rena continued.

"So, which of the guys caught your eye?"

The elf's answer was a sudden gag and explosion of yellowish beverage. Unable to contain her amusement, Rena laughed as she handed the girl a clean napkin, which she gratefully accepted and promptly wiped herself and the table down.

"W-W-W-W-What do mean by that!?" At every stuttered syllable, Ara's pitch got higher and higher. She seemed to have some singing talent. But Rena ignored that and leaned over the table.

"Ah, you are interested in one of them! Okay, spill the beans, who is it? Elsword? Add? You have been talking a lot with Chung lately." Despite her advanced age, Rena still had a little girl inside her that craved the fluffy romance and drama of her group of friends. Elsword and Aisha, for example, were oil and water on the surface, but she had seen the Lord Knight and Elemental Master having more intimate moments, much to their embarrassment. And Ara did seem like there was someone on her mind other than her brother, so her feminine instincts told her that she was developing an interest in someone.

"Uh… well… that is… um…" The girl seemed to sink into her seat with a face almost as red as Rena's wine, clutching her drink in her two hands as she sipped nervously from the straw.

"Come on! Tell me! I can help you. That's what friends are for, right?" Rena was practically bouncing in her seat in anticipation. The Sakra Devanam groaned before looking at the Wind Sneaker through her sable bangs.

"Miss Rena… well you see…" She took another sip to delay the inevitable, as she could not deny Rena's powerful gaze. "It's none of them."

Confused, Rena pressed on. "None of the guys? Oh… So you're into women then? That's okay, just know that I am not really into that kind of stuff," Rena pointed out, just in case she was the object of the girl's affection. But Ara's face, if it could get any redder, flared up like Aisha's Meteor Shower.

"No! That's not it at all! I meant that it was none of the guys you listed off!" she shouted before retreating back into her seat and nibbling on her straw.

"None of the guys I listed off? So, not Elsword, Add or Chung. Who am I mis- Oh…" Normally, the Wind Sneaker would squeal in delight having figured it out, but for some reason, when she deduced the identity of Ara's crush her heart fell instead.

"Y-Yes… It is… S-S-Sir Raven…" The poor girl looked like she wanted nothing more than to find the nearest hole to die in, but alas, there was no such salvation for her. An uncomfortable silence followed as Rena slid back into her chair, a stunned look stuck on her face.

Finally, she moved her lips. "I see…" She at last took a sip of her wine, her eyes focused on the swirling red liquid. "So you're into Raven, then…" Her voice seemed distant, and Ara visibly flinched at hearing it, but the words could not be taken back.

"Yes…" she whispered into her glass before taking another sip. If not for the tense atmosphere she brought, she would be enjoying her fruity cocktail. But it tasted like water as she watched the elf bring her wine glass to her lips for another swig.

"So… when did you start… you know…" It was a good thing no one was listening in on their conversation. They would be rolling on the floor in agony at how awkward it was.

"Um… when we arrived in Velder…" Ara answered.

"Oh? Well… what is it that you like about him?" Rena inquired, taking another sip of her wine.

"Uh…" This time, Ara forgoed the straw and threw back her drink, slurping half of what was left in the glass. "Well, he is strong… Like… He is very used to battles and tactics. He's also a warm person when you get to know him… And…" she trailed off.

Rena stared at the girl like she was the most interesting creature in the world before she gulped down the remainder of her wine and stood up. "Hold the table Ara. I need more wine for this."

As soon as the elf left her sight, the Sakra Devanam let out an explosive sigh. That went a while lot better than she imagined it. She was afraid the elf would have kicked the table over on her and danced on her back. As she closed her eyes and brought her hands to her chest to calm her beating heart, a voice broke the silence.

"Oh? And what might you be doing here?" Her back went rigid and her eyes flew open to see a dark-skinned patron standing near her table. But the features that stuck out the most of this newcomer was a head of wild, snow colored hair and long, pointy ears.

"Chloe!?" Ara reached for her spear, only to realize that she was unarmed. Her hands drifted to her chair, the only weapon she had on hand, when…

"Hm? Is that Chloe?" Rena returned from the bar with four bottles of wine, one in each hand and another under each of arms. Chloe turned to meet her gaze and an evil smirk broke out on her lips.

"Rena… This is perfect… We can settle our dispute here and now." The dark elf crouched low into a combat stance and her hand floated to the knife on her back. And Rena's response was…

"Yes, this is perfect." Walking past her aggressor without even breaking a step, she set down her wine and pulled up another chair. "Wait right there."

Stunned at being casually deflected, Chloe remained frozen where she was as Rena returned to the bar and came back with two more wine glasses. After setting those on the table as well, she grabbed the dark elf and sat her in the free chair before returning to her seat.

"I need another drinking partner. Drink with me." She didn't give her fallen brethren a chance to argue as she poured her a glass of wine.

"Oh, thanks," Chloe expressed her gratitude and was about to take a sip of her beverage when she slammed it back onto the table. "Hey! Give me back my rhythm!"

Ara just sat where she was, taking in the scene with absolute confusion dominating her thoughts. Unfortunately, she wasn't spared either, as Rena pushed a filled glass towards her.

"You, too," she demanded as she lifted her own filled vessel and threw back its contents down her throat.

"Uh… Huh? B-But Miss Rena. I am undera-"

"NO ARGUING! DRINK, BOTH OF YOU!" Rena's fury bellowed forth, and her victims hopped in their chairs.

"Yes, Ma'am!" was all they could muster as they brought their glasses to their lips and sipped their drinks.

Unfortunately, the barkeep did not come to Ara's aid and only sent for the others when Rena started trying to backflip off the tables while screaming, "MORE WINE!"

Needless to say, the rest of the gang had to come get them later that night, but Chloe was left on the side of the road, like her bow in Velder…

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 **And that's that! Was it actually funny? I am not really familiar on how to write comedy so I tried what I could. On Ara's crush, if you look at the official relationship charts, you will see Ara's thoughts on Raven. It _could_ be inferred that she has a passing infatuation with him, so I wanted to see if I could work that in somehow, thus you see the actual quote she uses to describe Raven in this story. I always thought of Rena as a wine drinker like my family. And when we are all sitting around drinking and something heavy comes up, one of us always says, "We need more wine." So please Read and Review and let me know if you were actually laughing or not. Until next time!**


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